Library of the Russian Academy of Sciences
The Library of the Russian Academy of Sciences (BAN; Russian Библиотека Российской академии наук ) is a public library located on Vasilyevsky Island in Saint Petersburg . With an inventory of over 20.5 million items, it is one of the world's largest libraries . However, it is only accessible to academic staff of the Russian Academy of Sciences and its sub-organizations and selected individuals. The current director is Valeri Leonow.
history
The library was opened in 1714 as a book and manuscript collection on behalf of Tsar Peter the Great . As a result, all scientific institutions were legally obliged to provide the library with copies of their holdings.
From 1728 to 1924 the entire collection was housed in the St. Petersburg Art Chamber . During the First World War , the War Ministry used the building as a military hospital; at the same time a new building was erected. In the course of the October Revolution , further private and public collections were integrated into the library.
In February 1988 a fire destroyed a significant part of the holdings, including around 400,000 books.
Web links
Coordinates: 59 ° 56 ′ 39.3 ″ N , 30 ° 17 ′ 48.7 ″ E